A study of the acquisition of discourse markers by Chinese learners of English

Authors

  • Jiemin Bu Zhejiang Guangsha College of Applied Construction
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2013/1/152681
Keywords: discourse marker, acquisition, Chinese learner of English, sociopragmatics

Abstract

This study investigates the acquisition of discourse markers by Chinese learners of English in terms of gender, style and individual identity. The subjects of the study are 15 female university students and 15 male university students. The data is collected by means of audio recording in the classroom discussion and in the interviews. The examined discourse markers are like, yeah, oh, you know, well, I mean, right, ok and actually , and a total of 1292 tokens for these discourse markers are identified in the subjects’ classroom discussion and interviews. The results of the study show that: (1) the female subjects use discourse markers more frequently than the male subjects. (2) all the subjects employ discourse markers in the interviews at a higher rate than in the classroom discussion. (3) the subjects’ individual identity has the effects on their use of discourse markers. (4) the subjects display their individual variations in their frequencies of discourse markers in the interviews and in the classroom discussion respectively.

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Author Biography

Jiemin Bu, Zhejiang Guangsha College of Applied Construction

Jiemin Bu received his M. A degree in English language and literature from Shanghai International Studies University in Shanghai, China. He is currently an associate professor of English in the foreign languages school, Zhejiang Guangsha College of Applied Construction, Zhejiang, China. He has been doing research in the field of linguistics, applied linguistics and pragmatics. He has published more than 20 papers in academic journals. His current research focuses on interlanguage pragmatics of Chinese learners of English.
Published
01-04-2013
How to Cite
Bu, J. (2013). A study of the acquisition of discourse markers by Chinese learners of English. International Journal of English Studies, 13(1), 29–50. https://doi.org/10.6018/ijes/2013/1/152681
Issue
Vol. 13 No. 1 (2013): Open Issue
Section
Articles

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